Festival offers a chance to Czech out Wilber and celebrate its heritage

WILBER, Neb. (KLKN) — The streets of Wilber, the Czech capital of the nation, were filled with festivities on Friday as the community kicked off its annual Czech Festival.

Jen Pospisil is known as the unofficial spokeswoman in town and volunteers with the Nebraska Czechs of Wilber.

She helped to organize the festival, along with 52 other committees.

“It’s all about celebrating Czech heritage and coming together with friends, family and just enjoying music, the food and just being together,” she said.

The City of Wilber was founded in 1873, and the growth of Czech culture started when the first Czech settlers bought land and multiplied their families.

The festival is keeping Czech tradition alive in many ways, such as many wearing a traditional dress called a kroj.

A kroj is designed to represent a specific region in the Czech Republic and is made up of a blouse with puffed sleeves, a vest, an apron and a skirt.

“Basically, depending on where your family and relatives were from back in the Czech Republic, it determined a different type of outfit,” said Pospisil, wearing a bright red and white kroj.

The Czech Museum is home to many kroje from hundreds of different regions, and its 90-year-old curator offers history lessons to patrons.

The festival, of course, also offers plenty of traditional food, like kolaches.

It runs through Sunday, and you can find a full list of events on the Nebraska Czechs of Wilber website.